


Breaking the strings

by UndeadFae



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Gen, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, Season 3, genda is in inajapan, implied gensaku, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23872528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadFae/pseuds/UndeadFae
Summary: The FFI was going smoothly, everyone doing their very best to win. It all went to hell as soon as that man made himself known, his twisted obsession and thirst for revenge bringing him to Liocott Island to break Inazuma Japan. A few players will not stand by and let him destroy their team, even with the dangers it implies.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Breaking the strings

**Author's Note:**

> What do you mean this isn't how things shouldn't have gone Genda absolutely should've been there no I am not salty what are you talking about
> 
> well here we go-

It’s amazing how quickly a man like him could turn an average day into a turbulent sea of distress and anxiety threatening to drown him at any minute.

With their search proving to be in vain and their minds heavy with the doubts and what-ifs, Kidou and Sakuma were reluctantly making their way back to their hotel, an uncomfortable silence heavy on them both.

“Hey…” Sakuma finally looked up at him, waiting for him to finish. “… let’s not tell Genda anything yet.”

“But…” Of course he wasn’t convinced.

“I don’t want to keep it a secret from him either- but we need to be sure of this before saying anything. You know how he is…”

“… Alright.” Of course he knew, after knowing him for years he knew exactly how much of a reckless, selfless idiot Genda could be if his friends were threatened or in danger. Shin Teikoku had been just another reminder of this, one he would’ve been glad burying in a forgotten corner of his mind to never think about again. “Let’s just get this settled quickly. Then we’re telling him everything.” Kidou quietly nodded in agreement. It might- no, it would definitely get Genda mad at them for hiding something like that, but it was for the best.

Not like any of that helped- not when those thoughts were so heavy on them even kicking the ball in the right direction was becoming an impossible task. Even Fudou was struggling, his shots far less precise and strong than what everyone was used to seeing. It wasn’t a surprise when Kudou told them to step out, really.

They had to solve this, once and for all.

Fudou suddenly leaving before anyone could so much as talk to him was only another confirmation of it. Kidou was ready to leave when he glanced at the rest of the team, eyes narrowing behind his googles as he finally took a good look around.

“Where is Genda?” Now Sakuma was almost frantically looking around, realizing that Kidou was right- Genda was nowhere to be seen. Endou was quick to step closer and speak up despite Kudou’s orders, hoping to at least be able to help them with that.

“He said he had to try something earlier this morning, so the coach let him go train on his own.” Kidou nodded without a word, already turning to leave. “Hey, Kidou-! What’s going-”

“Don’t worry about it- it’s fine.” Sakuma just glanced at him apologetically before rushing behind Kidou. Endou almost tried to stop them, ultimately just watching them leave with a frown, already suspecting that he would be dismissed again. If they really didn’t want to tell him what was going on…

“Hey, Aki! Do you know where Genda went?”

* * *

They were on the bus, already prepared to continue their wild goose chase, when they saw Fudou on the same ride, the still lingering tension only growing. It only stopped when someone else rushed to get on right as the doors were closing, barely making it in time.

The three of them could only stare as Genda and Endou leaned against the bus seats, too busy catching their breath to talk just yet.

“E-Endou? Genda? What-”

“We saw you getting on the bus, so-” somehow, Kidou really doubted he just so happened to see them. Once Genda recovered he straightened up, he crossed his arms, looking at them.

“What’s going on? You’ve been acting weird today- what’s wrong?”

“H-how would you know that if you’ve been gone all day?” Not like Sakuma’s sudden defensive tone helped them. Genda just raised an eyebrow, nearly staring him down.

“Endou filled me in on the way here.” And at that Endou just flashed them a sheepish smile, his plan already exposed. “You’re acting really weird- what’s happening?”

Kidou and Sakuma exchanged a glance, knowing there was no way out of it now. With a resigned sigh, Kidou decided to speak up.

“It’s Kageyama. He’s on the island.”

The sudden silence felt suffocating. Genda looked at him with wide eyes, disbelief written all over his face, like he wanted to ask if this was just a terrible joke, while Endou looked at the two of them, just as alarmed and worried.

“… Are you sure it’s Kageyama?” They both nodded. Genda now glared with narrowed eyes, his voice low. “And you weren’t planning to tell me? You were just going to keep everything a secret from me?”

“It’s not that-” before Sakuma could explain anything, Genda cut him off, trying his hardest to keep his voice low and composed, even when everyone could see how close he was to losing his patience. If there actually was any of it left.

“You were going without me- you wanted to get this done without me. Didn’t you think that I deserved to know, to come with you?” Now he looked at Sakuma, the angriest Genda had ever been at him in all the time they had known each other. Sakuma couldn’t help but flinch, even when knowing it was deserved. “We went through that hell together- I never left you to deal with anything alone. You should’ve at least told me instead of leaving me out of this so quickly.”

With the tension now painful to bear, Endou put a hesitant hand on Genda’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

“Hey… we’ll take care of this together now, alright? We can’t fight each other now.” After a very distressful moment, Genda sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping.

“Fine… sorry…”

With the rest of the bus ride still ahead of them, everyone took a seat by the door, letting the still uncomfortable silence take over. Genda kept his distance from them, avoiding their stares as much as he could, still too caught up in his anger and worry to talk to them.

For a while, no one spoke, too much to think about to attempt and strike a conversation. Then, Kidou seemed to remember something, turning to look at Genda, hesitating before speaking up.

“… What were you doing today?”

“Training. The coach knows already, so it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Sakuma frowned, not convinced by his far too quick answer. Genda just distracted himself by looking out of the window, pointedly ignoring the glare Fudou was throwing his way. No one was overlooking the way he looked far more disheveled and bruised up than what was the usual result of their practice.

The air was tense, no one saying a word as they waited for the bus to stop.

* * *

Managing to get to Italy’s area just in time to witness the Orpheus’ captain nearly get crushed by wooden beams was a bit too familiar for comfort and too perfect for a coincidence. At least they got there fast enough to avoid a disaster.

Finding out that a concerning amount of their players had been injured on the same day, within a few hours, however? That could only be bad news, they already could tell that much. The rest of the information that Orpheus helpfully supplied didn’t help reassure their worries in the slightest. Fideo’s naivety was nearly enviable, really.

“Hey-! Fideo, we could join your team! Then you’ll have a full team for tomorrow!” Now everyone was staring at him like he had just announced he would give up on soccer. Well, not to that extreme, but pretty close.

Their refusal in favor of making sure Kageyama was really in the area should’ve been expected. At least Fideo didn’t take it the wrong way, way too kind and understanding with the situation they all were in. Unfortunately, their search was being just as frustrating as useless as it had been earlier.

Until they witnessed Kidou nearly getting crushed by scarily well placed wooden beams.

As much as they wanted to, they couldn’t ignore it anymore, too many accident to brush it all off as a coincidence. Whatever was going on, they had to find out soon, and Mister K was the only connection they had by now. They had to go find him, even if that meant having to play with Orpheus.

Fideo was more than happy to welcome them back as soon as Kidou brought up Endou’s offer once again. The rest of Orpheus, however, not so much- not like they couldn’t understand where they were coming from, they did just skip an entire day for the sake of settling their score with Kageyama.

“Is it worth it if you lose your place in the championship over it?” Endou’s words were already enough to throw off the Italian keeper. Before he could keep talking, Genda stepped forward.

“Endou.” Now the boy in question turned to him. “Please, let me do this. Let me be the keeper for this match.”

“What…?” Despite his confusion, Endou allowed him to continue. With a quick nod to thank him, Genda looked at the other keeper, completely serious.

“If you’ll trust me with it I will protect your goal, no matter what.” Blasi stared at him dumbfounded, Genda not flinching under his glare.

“Why would you go so far for us?” The distrust in his voice wasn’t unfounded.

“Because I know what it means for us to be able to protect our team- and I know how it feels to be forced to watch and do nothing as someone else fights for you. I will prove to you that I am worthy of protecting your team while you can’t.”

Then, Genda took off one of his gloves, raising an ugly, scarred hand balled into a fist. The Italian players were now oddly quiet, some forcing themselves to look away. Blasi wasn’t glaring anymore. Endou decided it was his moment to chime in, placing a hand on Genda’s shoulder, his usual grin on his face.

“We’re not enemies- we’re rivals aiming for the top with the best of our soccer! And we’ll do all we can to make sure no one will take that away from you!”

Seeing the determination on their faces, he couldn’t really find it in him to protest anymore. With a smile, he raised his hand, bumping Genda’s fist with his own, Endou quickly joining in.

“Alright then, I’ll be trusting both of you with our goal. I’m Blasi.” Genda returned the smile with his own smirk as the proud king of keepers.

“I’m Genda Koujirou.”

“And I’m Endou Mamoru! Just leave it to us, we won’t let you down!”

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Genda looked up from his gloves, hiding the worn and nearly torn fabric in his pocket as he faced Sakuma.

“I wouldn’t have offered to play if I wasn’t sure.” There was still a hint of coldness in his voice refusing to shatter, quickly looking away from him and out of the window. He still wasn’t in the mood for talking, then.

“… Alright, if you’re so sure…” For a moment, Sakuma stood there near him, awkwardly shuffling on his feet, debating whether or not to sit down next to him and try to talk like they should’ve before. “… Go to sleep, alright? You need all your energy for tomorrow.”

“I will- in a bit.” Sakuma let out a soft sigh, right as Genda’s shoulders slumped.

“Goodnight, then.” He quietly walked away and towards the room Orpheus was lending them, leaving the keeper alone with his own thoughts. After the match, he promised himself. After the match, they would talk.

* * *

The tension was back to haunt them as soon as they stepped onto Italy’s practice pitch. Even with their reassurance to Orpheus that they would fight tooth and nails to keep their spot in the championship safe, it was far more distressing once faced with the knowledge of having to go against an unknown enemy who might already know all about them. They would have to hope that their sudden inclusion in the match would help throw the stranger team off.

It was all thrown out of the window the moment they were face to face with Kageyama, the reveal hitting them like a bucket of ice. It wasn’t just any match anymore.

His sick obsession showing itself as Demonio made something inside Kidou twist uncomfortably, the weight of the match now threatening to crush him. He still forced himself to stop thinking about it, catching up with the rest of the team to prepare for it. They had to be ready and give it their all.

“Endou, you’ll be our libero for this.” He quickly nodded, still serious even when out of his usual position. “Genda is our keeper. Sakuma, you’ll be one of the forwards- Fudou and I will be the midfielders.” They nodded in agreement. “Let’s focus and stay alert- we don’t know what Kageyama has planned for this, but we can’t let him catch us with our guard down.” The rest of the Italian team quickly followed. Even with their captain still taking the lead, they knew better than to protest against the ones that offered to help despite having their own team to take care of, especially when they were covering for all the positions they were missing.

Winning was easier said than done. It wasn’t just Demonio’s skills- it was how he was toying with them all, mocking them with his copycat moves and twisting their own hissatsu against them. Adding Kidou’s own issues as Kageyama was trying –and succeeding- to get into his mind once again to the poor coordination of a team no one was used to play as, it was no surprise to see the match become so one sided in a matter of minutes.

Genda was keeping his word to the Italian keeper though, blocking shot after shot with a grim determination, even when he knew damn well that Demonio wasn’t taking him seriously.

Kidou could only watch as their team was being crushed under Kageyama, his mind pushed further and further away from them, the man threatening to drown him with nothing but a vicious grin.

“Snap out of it!” The ball that nearly got him in the face finally caught his attention. Sakuma was right, he needed to focus now, for everyone’s sake, no matter how much _he_ tried to get under his skin and inside his head.

It wasn’t working.

Kageyama was still inside his head.

He couldn’t get away couldn’t fight back couldn’t even say anything he just-

“Shut up- we’re not some fucking puppets or creations!”

-he was knocked to the ground, aching and sore, looking up at Fudou, glaring and snarling at their enemy.

It was the last reminder he needed- to remember that they weren’t his slaves anymore. They were going to win against him now- together.

They broke through Team K’s defense with ease now, working together to push their offense. When they safely got the ball to Fideo, it was time to score, his Odin Sword making its way towards the goal at full speed.

They were all too caught up in the thought of finally turning the match in their favor to notice the keeper’s mocking smirk.

When they saw the position he assumed, the hands ready to stop the ball like an animal’s maw, they froze. They knew that move.

“Beast Fang X.”

Kageyama’s keeper effortlessly stopped the shot, the forbidden move not even affecting him.

Genda watched in muted horror as the hissatsu that nearly broke him down was used against them.

No one had the time to scream, to even think of saying anything, their enemy already moving to counterattack, the rest of the team scrambling to go back. Demonio was already in front of their goal, Genda glaring at him, daring him to shoot. He gladly took the challenge, raising his hand to whistle. Genda’s focus nearly wavered when the penguins bit into his leg, the memory of red penguins and bloody screams still carved into his memory. He could almost feel the hidden scars burning his skin.

“Koutei Penguin X!” Genda ignored the screams, raising his hand to bring out his own hissatsu.

“Drill sm-” it was too slow. The shot nailed him in the stomach, knocking all the air out of him and pushing him against the net at full strength, leaving him to crawl on the ground, dazed, bruised, coughing and choking as he grasped for air. He could barely hear Sakuma’s voice calling for him, kneeling next to him with a hesitant hand on his shoulder, just trying to make sure he didn’t need to go back to a hospital.

Perhaps the scariest part was seeing Demonio still standing with a vicious grin on his face.

“Koujirou? Koujirou?!” It took him a moment to actually hear his name being frantically called, digging a fist into the dirt to push himself up on a knee. “Come on, get up-! Can you stand?!” Genda just nodded, forcing himself back on his feet.

“I-I’m fine-” he wasn’t, still catching his breath and nursing what would soon become a horrible bruise. He was still determined to keep playing, to keep his word no matter what, to prove that he was stronger than the beast that almost tore him apart. The match had to keep going, and they had to win it.

The pressure was higher now. They knew how much Koutei Penguin X just messed them up, how their own barely stitched together strategy was falling apart at the seams by now- and they were determined to use any mistake against them.

And that’s what happened, Demonio effortlessly taking the ball back from them, already headed towards the goal once again. As much as they tried, as much as they got in his path and put obstacles in his way, they weren’t enough, too messy and moved by sheer desperation to do anything against him.

He was standing once again in front of the goal in a matter of seconds.

“Genda!” The unexpected distress in Fudou’s voice was clear. “Don’t be an idiot and play seriously now!”

He was right, Genda knew that well.

“Alright-” as soon as the whistle summoned the penguins, he followed it up with a hand clutching his heart, eyes glowing red as he crouched, a growl ripping itself from his throat. The beast was at his side with a roar, daring them to attack.

Then, under the shocked stares, Genda pounced, lunging at the oncoming shot.

“High Beast Fang!”

The fangs closed in on the shot, dust clouding their view.

No one said anything, frozen in place, mouths gaping and eyes wide in fear, knowing well just how dangerous that was, how stupid and reckless what Genda just did was and how he must be on his knees and barely biting back a scream and-

The dust cleared, Genda standing proud in front of the goal, ball in his hands and a feral glint in his eyes, the silent promise and reassurance that nothing else would get past him, that he would show them why he was the king.

They wanted to ask questions, to run up to him to scream at him just what was going through his head to consider something like that a good idea, to yell at him for worrying them and then check to make sure he was really okay.

“Endou!” Genda threw the ball at him, the match restarting. They didn’t have time to worry now, not anymore, not knowing that Genda had their back. They had to win this now. “Go and win this, show them what we can do! Leave the goal to me!”

Genda was putting all his trust in them without a doubt, just like they had always trusted him. They had no excuse to fail now.

With newfound determination, they rushed towards the enemy’s goal, no longer hesitating, no longer letting Kageyama’s poison get to them.

The still lingering fog was lifted as soon as they evened the score, yet it only revealed how far gone Demonio was.

In his quest for power, he had given up his very soul to that man, no longer caring for the consequences, even if he had to watch his own body fall apart. It was uncomfortably familiar, bringing back memories better left buried.

Kidou and Fudou’s new hissatsu wasn’t working, the ball lost once again. Even when they already had a new plan in the works with Sakuma’s help, they wouldn’t make it in time, they were too far ahead, Demonio was no longer thinking straight, letting instincts take over as he made his way towards the goal with brute strength.

“Endou!” His attention snapped to Genda, sheer confusion written all over his face. “Switch with me- I got this!”

“W-wh- A-alright!” He decided to trust Genda with this, rushing back to the goal, a quick high five the only indication for the sudden change of position. The irrational and reckless plan made up on a whim was enough to throw off Demonio, his decaying eye sight only helping Genda as he charged, the ball now at his feet.

Without hesitation, he ran, pushing through the enemy team with the strength of a lion.

“Kidou!” Genda kicked the ball with all his strength, the pass connecting. “Show them what Teikoku is really capable of- we’re not his puppets anymore!”

“Yes!” They weren’t doing this just as a team- they were doing this as friends, they were breaking this curse together.

When they rose to the sky, their strength combined into their new shoot, they broke it, broke everything Kageyama ever wanted them to be.

“Koutei Penguin 3go!”

With the match over, so was their curse.

Before they even started to celebrate their victory, Genda and Endou already rushed up to them, all the tension of a few hours ago completely gone.

“You did it!”

“No.” Kidou placed a hand on Genda’s shoulder, smiling and more at ease than he had been in days. “We did it. Together.”

If only their victory hadn’t been so short-lived.

* * *

Even with all the effort they put into defeating Kageyama, it wasn’t enough. Even after beating his new creation, his most recent team of his many victims, the evil man won, his bold words and eerie grin taunting them.

In their desperation to get rid of their curse, they let their team down.

No one was blaming them for their defeat, still as kind and understanding as ever, especially once the truth came out. It still wasn’t helping them feel any less guilty.

As much as they blamed themselves, there was nothing that could be done now, just train harder and get stronger, hoping the next time they could do better. There was nothing left to do that day other than rest, let their thoughts take over for the night.

As soon as he stepped into his room, Genda let himself fall on his bed, barely managing just to pull off his gloves and throw them to the floor. For what felt like hours, he just laid there in silence, his gaze lost into nothing.

He was exhausted, and not just physically.

There was a knock on the door. Genda quietly sighed, too sore and tired to get up and open it.

“Come in.” He already knew who it was anyways.

Sakuma walked into the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He wasn’t saying anything just yet, walking closer to the bed and watching him.

“… You can sit down if you want.” After an awkward moment of silence, Sakuma accepted the invite, sitting on the edge of the bed right next to him. They both were waiting for the other to start, neither wanting to be the first. They had always been awful at swallowing their pride.

“… I’m sorry. For trying to hide everything.” Sakuma couldn’t quite look at him, his eye glancing at anything but him. “You were right- you deserved to know. It wasn’t fair.” Genda sighed, finally gathering the strength to push himself to sit up.

“It’s alright… I get it. I _am_ a reckless idiot, after all…” awkwardly running a hand through his hair, Genda forced himself to speak through the shame. “I’m… also sorry. For hiding what I was doing from you. I should’ve told you, even knowing that you would’ve tried to stop me… I guess we’re both idiots.” Sakuma finally dared to look at him.

“… So it’s all good now?”

“If you’re fine with it-”

“Yes, please- let’s never do this again, I hated being so awkward around you.”

Then, Genda hesitantly put an arm around his shoulders, Sakuma leaning against his. The silence was no longer suffocating and unbearable, just the comfortable kind of silence where no words were ever needed. The one they were used to.

They didn’t really know how much time had passed when there was another knock on the door.

“Come in.”

When the door opened, Kidou walked in with an ice pack in hand, Fudou following behind him and trying way too hard not to look so awkward and out of place.

“Hey- figured you could use this after today…” Genda caught the ice pack tossed his way with his free hand, just wincing a bit as he felt the cold against his stomach even through his shirt. That was going to be a pain for a few more days at least.

“Thanks.” Kidou just nodded, taking a seat on the closest chair, Fudou just settling for leaning against the wall.

For a while, silence fell on the room once again, the events of mere hours ago still heavy on their minds. There was so much they had to talk about, yet no one knew were to even start.

Then, Kidou looked at Genda, his brow furrowing.

“Hey, Genda? Why did you keep it a secret?” And now all the eyes were on him, exactly the last thing he wanted. It’s not like they didn’t already know why.

“I thought it was obvious- what was I supposed to do, just walk up to you guys and go ‘hey, remember when Beast Fang nearly killed me? Well, I’m gonna try that again, but this time I’ll make it work’?” He huffed. “… I had to get stronger. As much as I hate to admit it, Beast Fang was the strongest hissatsu I’ve ever had, I could feel it. I just had to find a way to make it safe… so I asked the coach to let me try. He agreed.”

“Genda…” Kidou cut himself off with a sigh. He couldn’t say anything, not when his pain and effort had saved them.

“Wait- and how did Fudou know?”

“Calm your jealousy-” Fudou quickly dismissed the glare Sakuma was throwing his way. “I just walked into your idiot in the middle of training, so I made him tell me everything. Then I told him that if he didn’t let me at least make sure he wouldn’t get himself killed I would be telling you.” Now Sakuma and Kidou were staring at him.

“Yeah, I too was surprised when I realized that he actually cared.” Genda almost smirked at that- for someone so nice he really could be a bastard when he wanted to. Fudou groaned as loud as he could in answer.

“Shut up- I just didn’t want to deal with these two if that happened!” No one bought that lie.

At least with that, some of the guilt still heaving on them vanished.

“… Now what? Kageyama…” Genda was the first to speak up, albeit reluctantly. As much as no one wanted to talk about it so soon, they knew it wasn’t something that could just be forgotten so easily. They still had that problem to deal with. Kidou crossed his arms, suddenly serious.

“We’ll deal with him. He has no control over us now- we’ll defeat him the next time. He won’t win again.” They wouldn’t allow him to, not after everything he has done.

“Alright, alright… guess we have no choice by now. Not like I was planning on letting him get away with this anyways.” They could all agree on that, at least.

Then, Sakuma made a face.

“Please, go back to being a bastard- I can’t get used to you being somewhat nice.”

“Hey-! Shut up before I make you!”

“Yeah, that’s a lot better.”

Kidou had already gone from serious to completely done within seconds. Genda just rolled his eyes, not really trying to hide a smile.

“Children, play nice now-” their friendly banter was interrupted by a phone ringing. Blinking, Genda turned to look at his bed, looking around for his phone. He froze as soon as he unlocked it, the others exchanging concerned glances at his reaction.

“W-what is it?” Unable to hold back his worry, Sakuma decided to take a peek, his eye widening as soon as he looked at the screen.

“Hey, Kidou…”

“What?” Genda just showed him the phone. Oh.

“Did you or Endou remember to call them last night while we were staying at the Orpheus’ hotel and forgot our phones?”

Silence. That was enough of an answer already.

They had a lot of explaining to do as soon as they called the rest of the Teikoku. That was not something they were looking forward to.


End file.
